What should you pay attention to when visiting the homes of the Yi people during the Torch Festival

What should you pay attention to when visiting the homes of the Yi people during the Torch Festival

1. Pregnant women should not go to other people’s weddings;< /p>

2. Don’t throw away food;

3. Don’t get close to their spiritual tablets;

4. Don’t walk in the fields;

5. Do not light torches during the day;

6. Do not whistle in the house;

7. Women cannot touch men’s heads;

8. Do not sit down Below and to the left of the piled things;

9. Do not say "fat, heavy, or beautiful" to the baby;

10. Be sure to drink the wine toasted by the host.

Customs of the Yi Nationality Torch Festival:

Before the festival: every household prepares food. During this period, each village made large torches made of dried pine wood and pine seeds and erected them in the village. Small torches were erected in front of each house and lit at night. The village was brightly lit; at the same time, people holding small torches marched in groups on the fields and mountains beside the village. In the field ridges, torches and pine trees are inserted in the corners of the fields. Finally, the young men and women gathered in the square and piled many torches into a fire tower. The flames were blazing. People gathered in a circle, sang and danced, and rejoiced all night long. The main activity of the Torch Festival is at night. People either light torches to illuminate the sky to pray for good luck, remove filth and seek good luck, or they light bonfires and hold grand singing and dancing entertainment activities. During the festival, there are also entertainment activities such as horse racing, bullfighting, archery, wrestling, tug-of-war, swinging, and trade fairs.

The Torch Festival generally lasts for three days and three nights. The first day is "Duzai", which means welcoming the fire. On this day, every village will kill cattle, slaughter sheep and pigs, welcome the God of Fire with wine and meat, and worship ancestors. Women will also rush to make buckwheat buns and tsampa noodles. People outside will go home to have a reunion dinner and gather around the fire pit. Drink home-brewed wine, eat lumps of meat, and share joy and happiness together. When night falls, people from nearby villages will build an altar at the location selected by the old man, hit flints in the traditional way to light the sacred fire, and Bimo will chant sutras and offer sacrifices to the fire. Then, in every household, the elders of the family take torches tied with mugwort sticks from the fire pit, and let the children and grandchildren take the torches from the hands of the elders. They first illuminate every corner of the house, and then walk across the fields, corners, and mountains. , use firelight to drive away diseases and disasters. Finally, they gathered on the hillside, played with torches, sang and danced, and played various games.

The second day of the Torch Festival is "Duge", which means to praise and praise the fire. It is the culmination of the Torch Festival. At dawn, men, women, old and young all put on festive costumes, brought cooked lumps of meat and buckwheat buns, gathered under the sacred fire of the altar, and participated in various traditional festival activities. Thousands of people gather together to organize horse racing, wrestling, singing, beauty pageants, pole climbing, shooting, bullfighting, sheep fighting, cockfighting and other activities. The girls wore beautiful clothes and danced "Doloho". On this day, the most important event is the Yi family's beauty pageant. The elders have to select handsome men based on the legendary image of the hard-working, brave, handsome and unrestrained black-bodied Laba. Choose a beautiful woman like Ni Zhang Azhi who is kind, intelligent, beautiful and generous. When evening comes, thousands of torches form fire dragons, swarming to the same place from all directions, and finally form countless bonfires, burning the sky red. People dance and sing heartily around the bonfire until late at night. The scene is grand and joyful, so it enjoys the reputation of "Oriental Carnival". When the bonfire was about to go out, pairs of loving young men and women walked quietly into the hillside and into the trees. Under the yellow oil umbrellas, they plucked the yueqin, played the mouth strings, and expressed their love to each other. Therefore, some people call the Yi Torch Festival the "Valentine's Day of the East".

The third day of the Torch Festival is called "Duoha" or "Dusha" in Yi language, which means sending fire. This is the end of the entire Yi Torch Festival. When night falls on this day, after worshiping the God of Fire and having dinner, each household lights a torch one after another, holds the torch, walks to the agreed place, gathers together, sets up a fire altar, holds a fire ceremony, chants sutras and prays to the God of Fire, and prays to the God of Fire. Ancestors and Bodhisattvas bestow health and happiness on their descendants, and grant harvests and joy to the world. People danced with torches and chanted congratulations, "Burn the plague, burn hunger, burn disease, and bring about a happy and prosperous year" to pray for the safety of their homes and the prosperity of their livestock. At this time, the chicken wings and feathers slaughtered on the first day are also burned together, and the evil elves and the gods of disease and plague are also burned.

Then find a larger stone, and press the lit torch, chicken feathers, etc. under the stone to symbolize suppressing the devil and keeping the family prosperous, the grain harvest plentiful, and the cattle and sheep fat. Finally, torches like dragons from villages and villages on the mountain and down the mountain gathered together and burned into a big bonfire to show that everyone was united and worked together to prevent natural disasters. What should you pay attention to when visiting a Yi home

Each ethnic group has its own customs and taboos

1. Behavioral taboos:

1. Avoid riding horses and meeting people Don't dismount.

2. Pregnant women are not allowed to attend other people’s weddings.

3. Babies under one month old should avoid seeing people with body odor.

4. It is not allowed to step on the Guozhuang stone with your feet, and it is even more forbidden to step over the fire pond.

5. Avoid throwing grain in your hands.

6. Avoid hunting cuckoos.

7. The spirit tablet is the incarnation of the ancestral spirit. Outsiders are prohibited from approaching it or unclean objects are placed around it.

8. Avoid gallbladder sweat or dark and rolled spleens in pigs, sheep and other animals killed during engagements or during the New Year.

9. It is forbidden to kill an animal without first burning it to worship the ancestors, but first being touched by a dog, cat, or chicken.

10. Avoid walking around in the fields during the Torch Festival, as this will attract pests.

11. Avoid walking around with torches lit during the day, and avoid walking out of the house lighting two torches one after another.

12. If someone in your family goes on a long trip, avoid sweeping up the trash and going out afterwards.

13. Avoid playing or whistling in the house and leaving the door open at night.

14. It is forbidden to cut down the sacred tree or make loud noises and fights near the sacred tree.

15. Avoid carrying hoes and axes together or putting them together.

16. When you have enmity with someone, avoid breaking branches, spitting, beating chickens, dogs, chopping brooms, or slapping headbands in front of the other person.

17. Don’t touch a man’s “Heavenly Bodhisattva” at will.

18. Women are not allowed to touch a man’s head, let alone step over a man’s hat.

19. Avoid farting loudly in public.

20. When visiting the Yi family, you cannot sit under or to the left of piles of things or sleeping berths.

21. The host entertains the guests with wine and meat, and the guests should taste it to show their gratitude.

2. Language taboos:

1. Avoid using words of praise for babies such as "fat", "heavy", and "beautiful".

2. Avoid talking openly about urination, defecation, farting, childbirth, etc. in front of everyone, and avoid words that contain similar content about the genitals of both sexes.

3. Avoid joking between the father-in-law and the brother-in-law.

4. Avoid joking and joking with Bimo and Suni casually.

5. Avoid saying unlucky words when your family is out.

6. Avoid talking about death or injury when someone is sick.

7. Avoid swearing at others without any reason.

3. Food taboos:

1. No meat such as horses, mules, dogs, cats, monkeys, snakes, frogs, etc.

2. Avoid eating food whose chopsticks break when stirring.

3. When taking a sheep to the main room for slaughter, if the sheep suddenly barks, it is forbidden to eat.

4. Avoid eating grains.

5. Do not eat meals that the chicken has skipped.

6. Avoid using a sickle to cut meat and eat it.

7. Men should not eat flour whose grinding shaft is broken when grinding.

8. Pregnant women are prohibited from eating deer meat and rabbit meat, and children are prohibited from eating chicken stomach, chicken tails, pig ears, and lamb ears. It is forbidden to eat chicken ileum.

9. Avoid burning buckwheat cakes and rice cakes. Put them in and take them out from the right side of the fire pit (from the guest side).

10. Wine is the top choice among the Yi people when entertaining guests. At the dinner table, the Yi people will warmly invite you to drink and talk to you heart-to-heart. There is a saying that "without wine, there is no respect". If the host refuses to drink the toast, he will be considered to be looking down upon him. How do the Yi people celebrate the Torch Festival

The Torch Festival of the Yi people is the most grand and grand traditional festival of the Yi people. Every year from the 24th to the 27th of June on the lunar calendar, all the villages of the Yi people hold grand sacrificial activities. Offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, offering sacrifices to fire, offering sacrifices to ancestors, driving away evil, and praying for the prosperity of livestock and abundant grains, all reflect the Yi people's desire to respect the laws of nature and pursue a happy life.

The Torch Festival is a large-scale brand festival in Yunnan Ethnic Village other than the Water Splashing Festival. During the Torch Festival every year, the scenic spot launches some unique festival activities. On the basis of retaining the original activities such as "fire sacrifice, parade, bullfighting, torch dancing and *** torch carnival", this year's Torch Festival also specially invited the Yi mute performance team, Bai suona band, sheep fighting team, etc. to further Enrich and create three time periods: "Wonderful Torch Festival, Classic Torch Festival, and Happy Torch Festival". At the same time, new projects such as "Torch Festival Beauty Pageant, Naxi Dongba Fire Sacrifice, and Torch Jumping Competition" were launched.

In addition to a strong line-up of ethnic minorities who stopped at the door to toast and welcome guests, and the Yi people's flowery singing and dancing, three reds, big three-stringed instruments and other musical accompaniments, there were also *** beautiful cattle king battles and sheep fighting competitions, *** The lively Yi people's fire sacrificial ceremony completely restores the taste of folk customs, allowing tourists to feel the excitement of multiple ethnic minorities and experience a unique carnival event.

Preparation

Before the festival, every family must prepare food; during the festival, they gather together, sing and drink. During the Torch Festival, each village uses dry pine wood and pine seeds to make large torches and erects them in the village. Small torches are erected in front of each house and lit at night. The village is brightly lit; at the same time, people holding small torches march in groups around the village. , mountains and fields, insert torches and pine trees in the corners of the fields. Looking from a distance, the fire dragon reflects the sky, winding and undulating, which is very moving. Finally, the young men and women gathered in the square, piled many torches into a fire tower, and sang and danced all night long.

Selection

One of the important programs of the Yi Torch Festival is the selection of handsome men and beautiful women. The Yi people have their own unique aesthetics. The judges are composed of respected elderly people, and the selection results are absolutely fair. The condition of being handsome depends not only on the appearance but also on the character of words and deeds. For example, the conditions for beauty are: thick black hair, thick eyebrows, big eyes, high nose bridge, long neck, delicate and rosy face, well-proportioned figure (not too thin), decent speech and behavior, good character, hard work and other conditions. The conditions for a handsome man are different: he is brave and good at fighting, has a dignified appearance, and has a strong body. You should be polite in your words and deeds, wear a hero's knot in your hair, wear a hero's belt and sword, wear a black wool cloak, and hold a horse in your hand. Today, this is a competition held every year during the Torch Festival in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan.

Carnival

The Torch Festival generally lasts for three days and three nights. The first day is "Duzai", which means welcoming the fire. On this day, every village will kill cattle, slaughter sheep and pigs, welcome the God of Fire with wine and meat, and worship ancestors. Women will also rush to make buckwheat buns and tsampa noodles. People outside will go home to have a reunion dinner and gather together

Traditional Chinese paintings expressing the Yi people - author Di Shaoying

Drinking home-brewed wine by the fire pond, eating lumps of meat, and sharing joy and happiness together. When night falls, people from nearby villages will build an altar at the location selected by the old man, hit flints in the traditional way to light the sacred fire, and Bimo (priest) will chant sutras and offer sacrifices to the fire. Then, in every household, the elders of the family take torches tied with mugwort sticks from the fire pit, and let the children and grandchildren take the torches from the hands of the elders. They first illuminate every corner of the house, and then walk across the fields, corners, and mountains. , use firelight to drive away diseases and disasters. Finally, they gathered on the hillside, played with torches, sang and danced, and played various games.

The second day of the Torch Festival is "Duge", which means to praise and praise the fire, which is the essence of the Torch Festival. At dawn, men, women, old and young all put on festive costumes, brought cooked lumps of meat and buckwheat buns, gathered under the sacred fire of the altar, and participated in various traditional festival activities. Thousands of people gather together to organize horse racing, wrestling, singing, beauty pageants, pole climbing, shooting, bullfighting, sheep fighting, cockfighting and other activities. The girls wore beautiful clothes and danced "Doloho". On this day, the most important event is the Yi beauty pageant. The elders have to select handsome men based on the legendary image of the hard-working, brave, handsome and unrestrained black-bodied Laba. Choose a beauty like Ni Zhang Azhi who is kind, intelligent, beautiful and generous. When evening comes, thousands of torches form fire dragons, swarming to the same place from all directions, and finally form countless bonfires, burning the sky red. People dance and sing heartily around the bonfire until late at night. The scene is grand and joyful, so it enjoys the reputation of "Oriental Carnival". When the bonfire was about to go out, pairs of loving young men and women quietly walked into the hillside and into the bushes. Under the yellow oil umbrellas, they plucked the yueqin and played the mouth strings, telling each other how much they missed each other. Therefore, some people call the Yi Torch Festival the "Valentine's Day of the East".

The third day of the Torch Festival is called "Duoha" or "Dusha" in Yi language, which means sending fire. This is the end of the entire Yi Torch Festival. When night falls on this day, after worshiping the God of Fire and having dinner, each household lights a torch one after another, holds the torch, walks to the agreed place, gathers together, sets up a fire altar, holds a fire ceremony, chants sutras and prays to the God of Fire, and prays to the God of Fire. Ancestors and Bodhisattvas bestow health and happiness on their descendants, and grant harvests and joy to the world. People danced with torches and chanted blessings, "Burn the plague, burn hunger, burn disease, and bring about a happy and prosperous year" to pray for the safety of their homes and the prosperity of their livestock. At this time, the chicken wings and feathers slaughtered on the first day are also burned together. The evil elves and the gods of disease and plague are also burned. Then find a larger stone, and press the lit torch, chicken feathers, etc. under the stone to symbolize suppressing the devil and keeping the family prosperous, the grain harvest plentiful, and the cattle and sheep fat. Finally, torches like dragons from villages and villages on the mountain and down the mountain gathered together and burned into a big bonfire to show that everyone was united and worked together to prevent natural disasters.

Activities

Traditional wrestling, bullfighting, horse racing and other activities are held during the Torch Festival. These activities originate from the legend of the hero Heidi Laba who defeated the devil (or god). This hero wrestled and wrestled with the devil, and also taught people to light torches to kill locusts transformed by evil spirits, thus protecting villages and crops. To commemorate this event, the legendary story is symbolically reenacted every year during the Torch Festival, which has gradually become the main content of the festival. Do the Yi people have a holiday during the Torch Festival?

The Torch Festival is equivalent to the New Year of the Yi people (the Spring Festival of the Han people). I once celebrated the Torch Festival in the Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan, and the whole city had a three-day holiday, including the traffic police. and various enterprises and institutions. Just like the Spring Festival, we set off firecrackers and eat rich food for three days to celebrate. When is the Torch Festival of the Yi people in 2012?

It falls on June 24th of the lunar calendar. You can find out by looking up the lunar calendar.

What is the symbol of the Torch Festival for the Yi people? , What does the Torch Festival express about the Yi people?

Fire is a symbol of the Yi people’s pursuit of light.

The totem worship of the Yi people is fire, which symbolizes fire-like enthusiasm and endless life. The Torch Festival held by the Yi people is a ritual of totem worship.

There are different legends about the origin of the Torch Festival. It is said that the gods of heaven and earth gods fight, and people use torches to help the gods of earth to eliminate insects and defeat the gods of heaven. One story comes from "Unofficial History of Nanzhao" and "Yunnan Series" of Normal University. These two books contain: Piluoge, the leader of Nanzhao, attempted to annex the other Five Zhaos. The leaders of the Five Zhaos gathered in Songming Tower and burned them to death. Deng Ai ordered his wife Charity to admonish her husband not to go. If the husband did not go there, he would be killed. Charity used his shrewd With wisdom and persistent love for her husband, she found her husband's body and buried it smoothly. The Yunnan people hung it with a burning torch. The Sani people of the Yi ethnic group in Shilin regard the Torch Festival as a festival to commemorate the people's victory in the struggle against evil; the Yi people in Wuding believe that the Torch Festival means that the ears of grain will grow as strong as torches. Later generations used this sacrificial fire to drive away ghosts and evil spirits in their homes and fields to ensure the safety of people and animals.

The Torch Festival of the Yi people is the most solemn and grand traditional festival of the Yi people. Every year from the 24th to the 27th of June on the lunar calendar, every village of the Yi people holds grand sacrificial activities, offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, fire, and animals. Ancestors, driving away evil, praying for the prosperity of livestock and abundant harvests, embody the Yi people's good wishes of respecting the laws of nature and pursuing a happy life.

The Torch Festival generally lasts for three days and three nights. The first day is "Duzai", which means welcoming the fire. On this day, every village will kill cattle, slaughter sheep and pigs, welcome the God of Fire with wine and meat, and worship ancestors. Women will also rush to make buckwheat buns and tsampa noodles. People outside will go home to have a reunion dinner and gather around the fire pit. Drink home-brewed wine, eat lumps of meat, and share joy and happiness together. When night falls, people from nearby villages will build an altar at the location selected by the old man, hit flints in the traditional way to light the sacred fire, and Bimo (priest) will chant sutras and offer sacrifices to the fire. Then, in every household, the elders of the family take torches made of mugwort sticks from the fire pit, and let the children and grandchildren take the torches from the hands of the elders. , use firelight to drive away diseases and disasters. Finally, they gathered on the hillside, played with torches, sang and danced, and played various games.

The second day of the Torch Festival is "Duge", which means to praise and praise the fire, which is the essence of the Torch Festival. At dawn, men, women, old and young all put on festive costumes, brought cooked lumps of meat and buckwheat buns, gathered under the sacred fire of the altar, and participated in various traditional festival activities.

Thousands of people gather together to organize horse racing, wrestling, singing, beauty pageants, pole climbing, shooting, bullfighting, sheep fighting, cockfighting and other activities. The girls wore beautiful clothes and danced "Doloho". On this day, the most important event is the Yi beauty pageant. The elders have to select handsome men based on the legendary image of the hard-working, brave, handsome and unrestrained black-bodied Laba. Choose a beauty like Ni Zhang Azhi who is kind, intelligent, beautiful and generous. When evening comes, thousands of torches form fire dragons, swarming to the same place from all directions, and finally form countless bonfires, burning the sky red. People dance and sing heartily around the bonfire until late at night. The scene is grand and joyful, so it enjoys the reputation of "Oriental Carnival". When the bonfire was about to go out, pairs of loving young men and women walked quietly into the hillside and into the trees. Under the yellow oil umbrellas, they plucked the yueqin, played the mouth strings, and expressed their love to each other. Therefore, some people call the Yi Torch Festival the "Valentine's Day of the East".

The third day of the Torch Festival is called "Duoha" or "Dusha" in Yi language, which means sending fire. This is the end of the entire Yi Torch Festival. When night falls on this day, after worshiping the God of Fire and having dinner, each household lights a torch one after another, holds the torch, walks to the agreed place, gathers together, sets up a fire altar, holds a fire ceremony, chants sutras and prays to the God of Fire, and prays to the God of Fire. Ancestors and Bodhisattvas bestow health and happiness on their descendants, and grant harvests and joy to the world. People danced with torches and chanted blessings, "Burn the plague, burn hunger, burn disease, and bring about a happy and prosperous year" to pray for the safety of their homes and the prosperity of their livestock. At this time, the chicken wings and feathers slaughtered on the first day are also burned together. The evil elves and the gods of disease and plague are also burned. Then find a larger stone, and press the lit torch, chicken feathers, etc. under the stone to symbolize suppressing the devil and keeping the family prosperous, the grain harvest plentiful, and the cattle and sheep fat. Finally, the dragon-like torches from the villages and villages on the mountain and down the mountain gathered together and burned into a big bonfire to show that everyone was united and worked together to prevent natural disasters. Why do the Yi people celebrate the "Torch Festival"

The Torch Festival is a grand traditional festival for the Yi people, just like we celebrate the Spring Festival. Every year on the morning of the 24th day of the sixth lunar month, men, women and children of the Yi ethnic group all dress up in festive attire, that is, their most beautiful clothes, and gather together to celebrate by drinking and engaging in bullfighting, wrestling, horse racing, archery and other activities during the day. At night, a bonfire party is held, which means a pile of wood is lit, and everyone sings and dances around the fire, and parades holding high torches. Countless torches are swimming in the fields, mountains and forests, and the scenery is very beautiful. The boys played the flute, played the moving Yueqin and Dasanxian, and danced the beautiful and cheerful "Axi Dances on the Moon" dance with the girls. How did the Torch Festival come about, and why do the Yi people celebrate the Torch Festival? The legend is to commemorate an ancient heroine who was smart, loyal, and died fighting violence. It reflects the Yi people's desire to drive away evil and pursue a better life.

Every year on the 24th of the sixth lunar month, the Yi people in southwest my country hold the traditional "Torch Festival". On the day of the festival, young men wrap their heads with green or blue cloth and tie them into a "hero's knot". Girls put on pleated skirts and gather in the square in the village. A tower-shaped firewood pile was built with dry firewood and pine branches in the square. A green tree three to four feet high stood in the center of the pile, with strings of red flowers hanging on the top of the wood. After dinner, men, women and children hold torches and go to the square to light the pyre, singing and dancing around the blazing fire amidst the sound of gongs and drums.

Why do the Yi people celebrate the Torch Festival? Legend has it that a long time ago, there was a young man named Duo Arexun from the Yi people. He was extremely powerful and often used his own strength to do good things for the villagers. The Yi people loved him very much. The Hercules in the sky knew this and insisted on competing with Doaara, so the two started a contest on a vast hillside. The villagers set up incense burners on the hillside and prayed that Duo Arexun would win. The boys played the sanxian and the girls sang songs to cheer for their heroes. Yijia Duoaresu fought with Hercules on the hillside for three days and three nights, and finally defeated Hercules and threw him down on the hillside. After vigorously trying to moisten the body failed, he became angry and grabbed a handful of incense ash from the incense table. The incense ash turned into countless flying locusts and flew into the fields to harm the crops. The hero Doa Rezu asked people to find pine branches, tie them into torches, and then light them to burn all the locusts that were devouring the crops.

The day when Duo Arasu wrestled with Hercules was the twenty-fourth day of the sixth lunar month.

Therefore, every year on this day, the Yi people light torches and hold wrestling, dancing and other entertainment activities to commemorate the hero Duo Arasu and celebrate the harvest.